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The leader of Yemen’s Houthis (Ansar Allah) vowed on August 1 that there will be a “military response” to the recent Israeli assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of the Palestinian Hamas Movement, in the Iranian capital, Tehran.
“There has to be a military response to these crimes, which are shameless and dangerous, and constitute a major escalation by the Israeli enemy,” Abdul Malik al-Houthi said in a televised speech.
Al-Houthi further denounced the recent Israeli strike in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, that killed a senior Hezbollah commander, Fouad Shokor, labeling it a “dangerous escalation.”
Over the last nine months, the Houthis, who are backed by Iran, have fired from Yemen more than 220 ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and suicide drones at Israel, mostly toward Eilat, in response to the Israeli war on Gaza, according to the Israeli military.
During the same period, the group targeted dozens of vessels affiliated with Israel or owned by the United States and the United Kingdom in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Six American-made combat drones were also shot down by Houthi air defenses over Yemen and nearby waters.
Last month, a deadly Houthi drone attack on Tel Aviv prompted Israeli strikes on the Yemeni Red Sea port of al-Hodeida that killed nine people and triggered a massive inferno. The Houthis vowed to respond after the strikes.
Iran has already vowed to respond to the assassination of Haniyeh with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei reportedly ordering a direct strike against Israel.
According to recent reports, Tehran and its allies, including Hezbollah and the Houthis, are considering launching a joint operation against Israel. Al-Houthi’s remarks indicate that this is very possible.
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